My Werewolf Mate is a Nerd

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

We walked down the hall and up the stairs.  The house was modestly decorated and there were family photos on the wall leading up the stairs.  ‘Aw.  Look at little, Joey.  He was so cute.’ I thought.  I could smell the intoxicating scent of oak leaves and cinnamon.  The scent got stronger as we neared a bedroom door.  She knocked and opened the door.  “Joey, someone is here to see you.” 

“Mom!  I told you I’m not helping anyone with their Homewo…”He stopped when he turned and saw me with his mom. 

“HER?!?!?! No.  Make her leave!  She’s the one who shocked me, mom!”

“JOEY! Please, have some manners!  Now you sit here and speak with Laney.”  She gave him a dirty look, then turned to me and smiled again. In a whisper, she said “I’ll leave the two of you alone.” And patted my arm. 

“Well?” he said.  “What do you want?”

“May I sit down?” I asked.

“I guess so.” He muttered and turned back to his computer. 

I walked to his bed and sat down.  Looking around his room I saw a poster of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out.  There was a signed picture of Stephen Hawking on his desk.  Joey had books stacked everywhere and science magazines flipped open to different prominent people.  There was a model of a molecular structure of some sort and a mobile of the solar system hanging in a corner.

“I see you’re a Stephen Hawking fan.”  I said hoping it would start a conversation. 

“Yep” He said, not taking his eyes off his computer. 

“Ok…” 

‘WOW’, I thought, ‘this is awkward’.  Not that I expected his to be all over me, but a little something.  Guys didn’t usually ignore me.  And here we sit, the guy that supposed to be my mate and we can’t even talk?  Not off to a great start. 

The silence was very uncomfortable for me.  “So, what are you working on?”  I asked standing up and walking towards his desk.  I bent forward and took a deep breath of his scent.  He spun in his chair and almost hit me.  I jumped back, startled. 

“You wouldn’t understand.”  He said.  For a split second, it seemed as if Joey smelled something too.  And he quickly looked me up and down, before turning back to his computer.  I was shocked. 

“I guess I should go.”  I said.

“Yes, you should and probably shouldn’t come back.” He sounded angry.

“Why?”  I asked saddened. 

“I don’t want you.  I don’t want a mate.”  Joey said quickly. 

The words hit me hard. What had I ever done to him?  I hadn’t ever seen him until 2 days ago, so why would he dislike me so much?  I stumbled back. “Why are you being so mean to me when we just met?” I started to cry. 

“Stop saying that.”  He said becoming angrier.

“Are you rejecting me?!” 

“Yes…” he kept his back to me.  I grabbed my chest and fell onto his bed.  He turned at the sudden movement.  There was a horrible pain slowly taking over me.  Joey’s eyes softened. “No.  I don’t know.  You’re making this hard…” he trailed off as he saw the tears on my face.  The pain started to subside.  “I think I need to be alone.”  He said. 

I breathed deep for a few minutes and then slowly got up and walked out, shutting the door behind me. 

“How’d it go?”  Mrs. Evans asked cheerfully.  I looked at her and burst into tears and ran out of the house to my car.  I faintly heard her call after me, but it was a blur.  I drove off, feeling like a huge fool.